III. 3. Minutes of the October 14, 2020 Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting
Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting, October 14, 2020 – Page 1
PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
October 14, 2020
A speicial meeting of the Hopkins Planning & Zoning Commission was held on October 14, 2020,
at 6:30 p.m. by video conference call through Zoom in response to the COVID-19 emergency.
Present were Commission Members Gerard Balan, Sam Stiele, Nathan White and Jason Miller. Also
present was City Planner Jason Lindahl. Commissioners Emily Fiamova, Maggie Sedoff and Douglas
Dyrland were absent.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Balan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Blake Road Station EAW Review
Mr. Lindahl introduced Andi Moffatt, Vice President of Environmental Services with WSB who
reviewed the EAW (Environmental Assessment Worksheet) prepared by the developer’s consultant,
Kimley Horn. Ms. Moffatt gave an overview presentation of the proposed development, the state
EAW process, responses to comments and next steps.
Ashley Payne and Trish Siegh with Kimley Horn, along with Bryan Farquhar with Trilogy Real
Estate Group were available to answer questions from the Commission. Commissioner White asked
about the phase II environmental assessment that found soil and groundwater contaminants and if
that would have any impact on the project and the environmental review. Ms. Siegh responded with
more information on the process to ensure proper mitigation of any contaminants. Chairperson
Balan questioned funding sources for the project. Bryan Farquhar with Trilogy Real Estate Group
replied that the majority of the funding will be private equity, but has not been fully determined at
this time.
After general discussion, Commissioner White moved and Commissioner Miller seconded, to adopt
Planning & Zoning Commission Resolution 2020-08, recommending the City Council make a
negative declaration of need regarding an Environmental Impact Statement for the Blake Road
Station Development. Mr. Lindahl stated that this item will be presented to the City Council at their
regular meeting on October 20 with the Planning Commission’s recommendation. The land use
applications for this project are scheduled for the October 27 Planning & Zoning Commission
agenda and the November 4 and 17 City Council agendas
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Lindahl updated the Commission on the following items:
• The land use applications for the Blake Road Station redevelopment are scheduled for the
October 27, 2020 Planning Commission meeting. Also on that agenda is a concept plan
Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting, October 14, 2020 – Page 2
review for Hopkins Village II, a 44-unit apartment building to be located next to the existing
Hopkins Village building located between 6th and 7th Avenues on Mainstreet.
• The City has received final approval of the Comprehensive Plan from the Met Council and
are scheduling final action on the plan for the November 17, 2020 City Council meeting.
• The Zoning Ordinance Update Directions Report is almost complete. This report lays out
the basic framework of what the zoning ordinance should look like. The document will be
presented to the working group soon. The meeting will be virtual.
ADJOURN
Commissioner White moved, Commissioner Stiele seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion
was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Courtney Pearsall
Administrative Assistant